


Academic Interests

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Fluff without Plot, Mass Effect 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 08:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8393878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: Shepard asks Liara for a favor, given that she is the Prothean expert and Shepard does have a confusing jumble of Prothean information in her head.





	

“Hey, Liara.  Can I ask you for a favor?” Shepard asks.  

Liara looks up from her desk and stands up.  She looks a little uncertain, which doesn’t surprise Shepard considering the last time they talked, Liara accidentally declared that she’d make an excellent research project.  It had been funnier more than anything else.  Their asari crewmember’s fumbling is… endearing (and maybe Shepard has a little crush.  Just a little one).

“Of course, Commander,” Liara says.  

“You’re an academic studying the Protheans, so I was hoping that you would be able to recommend some reading material,” Shepard says.  “Culture, history, art, military information.  I don’t know.  Whatever you think is accurate.”

“I didn’t realize you had an academic interest in the Protheans,” Liara says.

Shepard shrugs.  “I didn’t.  I grew up in the military and I’ve trained to be a navy officer.  Protheans don’t come up much in biotic or weapons training.  I mean, I do have other interests, but ancient history was never among them.”

“But now you do have an interest?” Liara asks, with some skepticism.

“Well…” Shepard taps the side of her head.  “I have a lot of information from the Protheans in my brain.  Maybe if I know more about them, it’ll help with our mission.  At the very least, it’ll satisfy my curiosity.”

Something in her voice must betray her other motive because Liara frowns.

“Are the visions from the beacons still bothering you?” Liara asks.

Regardless of her little crush on Liara, Shepard isn’t ready to start talking about the nightmares she’s been dealing with.  She’s still the commander of the Normandy, which means that she can’t be blabbing about nightmares to the crew.  It’s bad enough that most of her superiors think she’s deluded because she knows the Reapers are coming.  Her crew doesn’t need reasons to doubt her, too.

“Nah,” Shepard says, leaning back a little bit.  “I just want to know more about the culture that’s downloaded in my head.”

Liara doesn’t look quite like she believes her, but she nods anyway.  “Understandable.  I’ll gather up some texts and forward them to you.” 

“Thank you, Liara.  I appreciate it,” Shepard says.

“It’s no problem, Commander,” Liara says.

* * *

_ Commander- _

_ I’m not sure if you still want a list of Prothean reading material, but since I’ve already gathered the material, I figured I could send it along anyway.  If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. _

_ -Liara _

Shepard does have the Cipher now, but in a lot of ways, it just made her feel more confused.  She skims the list; Liara has kindly organized them by least academic to most academic and she’s highlighted ones with references to Prothean extinction.  

There’s one problem.

_ Liara: _

_ None of your articles are attached.  Pls send me those, too.  At least the understandable ones. _

_ -Shepard _

She opens the first article on a datapad, flopping on her bed.  While she’s exhausted from Feros, she’s still too hyped up to sleep.  The crash will come, of course, but not for another hour or so.  

The first article isn’t too densely academic, so it’s a pretty pleasant read.  About half way through, her eyes start to get heavy, so she lets her datapad rest on her chest and her eyes slide shut.  

Some indeterminate time later, her terminal beeps, waking her up.  Groaning, she summons all of her groggy strength to sit up.  When that doesn’t work, she just tilts her screen and opens her mail.

_ Commander- _

_ I didn’t realize you were interested in my work in particular.  A revised list is attached. _

_ -Liara _

Shepard smiles at the list.  Liara’s work makes up a substantial amount of the highlighted section.  Something about that makes her glow a little inside.  

_ Of course I am.  You are our cute Prothean expert, after all. _

Maybe she shouldn’t type while groggy, but before she can figure it out, she’s off to sleep again, this time accompanied by very pleasant dreams.

* * *

“You barely read any of these files,” Liara says dryly, some months later.

Saren is dead and the Reapers are thwarted for now.  That the Council and the Alliance have written her off as delusional is unpleasant, but now that her duties are just wiping out the rest of the geth, she has a lot more free time.  Being pushed aside irks her, of course, and she’s afraid of what will come because of their negligence, but there’s one upside.  It leaves her plenty of time to spend with her girlfriend.

Liara is lounging on her bed, looking at her datapad.  They’ve both just gotten out of the shower after a skirmish on some far flung planet with a geth enclave.  

“I tried!  I got busy,” Shepard says.  “I did save the galaxy, remember?  Very impressive, but doesn’t leave a lot of time for reading.”

“I suppose that’s an acceptable excuse,” Liara says.

Shepard stretches before jumping into bed, landing beside Liara with a quiet oomph.  She turns on her back and looks up at Liara.  

“I was going to get back into it!” Shepard defends herself.  “Now that Saren is dead, I have a lot more time.”

Liara smiles down at her and runs her fingers through her hair.  “It’s okay if you don’t want to read my articles.”

“No!  No!  I definitely do,” Shepard says, tilting her head so she can press her lips to her hip.

Liara curls her hand in her hair.  “But, maybe, we should do something else for now.”

“And what do you have in mind?” Shepard asks with a lazy smile.  

“I’m sure that you have a few ideas,” Liara says.

Contrary to her words, it’s Liara that leans down and captures Shepard’s lips in a kiss.  Her lips are soft but firm against hers, and suddenly Shepard forgets what Protheans even are.

* * *

“Given the evidence, I can only conclude-”

Liara’s reading is interrupted by a deep snore.  She looks down to see her usually attentive girlfriend fast asleep.  Waking her up is tempting, but Goddess knows that if anyone deserves their rest, it’s Shepard.  Not to mention, she’s curled tightly around Liara with an arm slung across her torso, a situation which she certainly enjoys.

Instead, Liara sets her datapad aside, leaving it for another night.  She takes a moment to really observe her girlfriend.  While there are plenty of similarities between asari and human physiology, there are still differences, too.  

There’s her soft, black hair, of course.  Usually Shepard ties it up, but in the privacy of her quarters, it flows down to her shoulders.  Her skin has rich bronze undertones that remind Liara of some of the more stunning sunsets she’s seen.  

With gentle fingers, Liara traces Shepard’s bushy eyebrows.  It’s strange how humans grow hair everywhere.  Their heads, their faces, their limbs, even in their armpits.  Liara enjoys it.  

Time passes in comfortable silence, Liara listening to the gentle sound of Shepard’s breathing.  Her face is relaxed for once, not worrying about the fate of the galaxy or the lives in her hands.  It’s so good to see.

After some indeterminate amount of time, Shepard shifts just a little.  She makes small noises in the back of her throat- a sure sign that she’s waking up.

Liara tries to hush her back to sleep, but in a minute, Shepard’s usually piercing blue eyes open.  Right now, her eyes are foggy from sleep, which matches her bleary smile.  

“Sorry.  Fell asleep,” Shepard murmurs, pressing her face against Liara’s shoulder.  

“I noticed.  It’s alright,” Liara assures her as she presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“Good stuff,” Shepard assures her.  “You know a lot about the Protheans.”

Liara laughs softly.  “I have been studying them for over half a century.”

“Mmmph, your laugh is pretty, too,” Shepard says.

“And you are adorable when you’re sleepy,” Liara says.

Shepard pulls at Liara gently, easing her so they’re both lying down.  She presses her face against Liara’s chest, arm still flung around her torso.  Her breath skirts across Liara’s skin, leaving goosebumps behind.

“Let’s be sleepy together,” Shepard says with a yawn.  “Tell me the rest of your paper later?”

Liara hums in wordless agreement, but her response hardly matters because Shepard has already drifted back off to sleep.  


End file.
